Goose Tatum
So much can be said about Goose Tatum. Tatum was such a standout athlete, that he played professional baseball, basketball, went and served in World War II, and came back and then starred for the Trotters. Goose was a such a standout player that when Abe Saperstein released him from his contract, he was the highest paid basketball player in the world, ahead of anyone playing in the NBA. Tatum was a 6’6 forward with a wingspan that stretched 88 inches. Rumors are that his arms were so long that he could touch his knees without bending over. Tatum would have been the perfect NBA player, and had he had a chance to showcase his skills, would have waxed the NBA competition back then. Something interesting to note about Tatum: he is credited as the inventor of the hook shot.
Marques Haynes
One of, if not the greatest ball handler in the history of basketball. Thats right, his handles were better than Kyrie, Pistol Pete, Shammgod or anyone else that ever touched a basketball. In high school and in college, Haynes dominated the competition so much that he only lost only 3 games in high school. Haynes led a team in an exhibition game against the Trotters, and Abe Saperstein just had to have him on the team. Maybe in the end, it was better that Haynes played for the Globetrotters instead of the NBA because he would have made all the pros look like fools.
Meadowlark Lemon
Wilt Chamberlain once said that Meadowlark Lemon was the greatest basketball all of time. Thats right, from anyone that Wilt ever played against (like Bob Cousy and Bill Russell) or played with (like Jerry West and Elgin Baylor) or anyone he saw play (like Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan) Wilt said Lemon was best of all of them. Lark played over 16,000 games in his career spanning multiple decades. We bet a measly 82 game NBA schedule would have been a cakewalk for him. For some reason we picture Meadowlark as a standout forward for the Knicks in the 1960s and early 70s. Imagine how crazy that would have been.
Geese Ausbie
Ausbie (real name Hubert Ausbie) was such a talented athlete that teams in the MLB and NBA wanted him to play for them. The story goes that Ausbie’s wife was constantly sending Globetrotter’s founder Abe Saperstein letters about how talented her husband was, which eventually got his attention. Ausbie’s stats go like this: averaged 40 points per game in high school, is one of the greatest DII scorers of all time, an received a Trotters ring which is only handed out to the greatest Globetrotters of all time. Ausbie would have been an amazing NBA player in the 1960s.
Jackie Jackson
We love writing about Jackson and have written about him multiple times on this blog. Jackson was basically a 1960’s version of Vince Carter. Like a lot of the Globetrotters on this list, Sidecar was a star in college and decimated his competition. In fact, he averaged 20 rebounds a game at only 6’4! Jackson was drafted in 1962 NBA draft at pick #41, but opted to play for the Globetrotters after Abe personally went personally to recruit him. It’s crazy to think what kind of damage Jackson would have done to the NBA in the 1960s had he decided to play.
Curly Neal
Curly Neal would have been the perfect NBA point guard back in the 1960s and 70s. Neal not only had supreme handles, but also was fundamentally sound and was as fast as any NBA point guard. Neal was actually probably faster than most NBA point guards back then. Any NBA team would have loved to have him on their roster. Neal collected 23 points per game in college but was largely overlooked by NBA teams since he had played at John C. University.